Julie and I had the pleasure of having Josh and Rachel visit us today for a swim and cookout at our family backyard pool. During their visit, I was able to ask Josh and Rachel how the fishing trips went. I learned a few things about the techniques Josh used to put together a fishing pattern.
These past few days have been tremendous "weather days" for fishing on the Susquehanna River. I was able to fish on Wednesday and Thursday. The past two evenings (Friday and Saturday), Josh and Rachel were able to fish above and below Harrisburg, Pa. In fact, we each fished the same locations but on different days!
Josh had a great evening catching a good number of fish on Saturday. Rachel had invited her ten year old nephew, Hayden, to travel along on Saturday...
Josh has chosen to fish the War Eagle 1/2 oz. Spinnerbait in a Mouse skirt... Tandem blade of Willow Leaf and small Colorado blades. This seems to be Josh's favorite "go-to" spinnerbait size and color. I have seen him catch plenty of good size fish on that combination.
He set nephew Hayden up with a Bettle Spin and grub combo. Although Hayden wanted to toss a spinnerbait like Josh, Hayden has yet to learn how to use a baitcaster and Josh's spinning combos were justto "whimpy" to toss a 1/2 oz. plug.
One of the first larger lures that I taught my youngest son to cast was a spinnerbait. He was eight years old and learning how to handle a baitcaster combo. A spinnerbait can be a bit tricky when there's a wind blowing due to it's mass, but it"s a lot safer than casting a lure with two sets of treble hooks attched (i,e, crankbaits, hard jerkbaits, or lipless crankbaits, etc.).
But even Hayden got into some action with this "Monster"!
We can all see that no matter what size smallmouth bass a ten year old nephew catches, he is as happy as a lark! Just look at the smile on this face.
Now... How can we get Josh to smile like Hayden when he catches a "Chunk" like this 18" smallie on a spinnerbait? Josh said that the smallies were vicious in attacking his War Eagle spinnerbait in a Mouse skirt last evening. It's good to hear that he had a good evening fishing. Josh works extremely hard during many hours, far away from home, and during the weekdays as an over-the-road trucker. Thank goodness for truck drivers because they definitely move America!
As the evening advanced, showers started to move in from the west. We have been sitting on a high pressure for several days which has kept the rain pushed to our west throughout the past week. But as the high pressure started to shift east, the showers were also able to move east and upon us. This drove Josh, Rachel, and Hayden off the water before sunset.
These were the same showers that moved into West Willow, Pa. by 8:00 p.m. and drove Julie and me inside after a very pleasant and comfortable evening sitting by the pool and fire pit...
Thank you to Josh, Rachel, and Hayden for sharing their pictures and experiences on the Susquehanna River this past Friday and Saturday evenings. It certainly looked like you had a fantastic time fishing together!
Take Care and Be safe!
Dad
